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The five worst passing performances in SEC wins this year
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The consensus among football fans and experts alike is that quarterback is the most important position on the field 99.9 percent of the time.
Thus, whenever a team is able to win a game despite a poor performance from it’s quarterback, it’s as bizarre as it is impressive.
With that in mind, here are the worst passing performances by SEC quarterbacks in victories this season.
5. Treon Harris vs. Georgia (3 of 6 for 27 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT) — It’s not that Harris played poorly against Georgia (he didn’t), it’s that he hardly played at all and Florida still scored 38 points in an 18-point win. To clarify, Harris took every snap in Florida’s victory, but he only threw the ball six times and only completed three passes. This list ranks worst passing performances in SEC wins, and Harris was hardly asked to pass at all, which is why he earns the No. 5 spot on the list.
4. Kyle Allen vs. Louisiana Monroe (13 of 28 for 106 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) — Allen deserves to be cut some slack considering this performance came in his first career start for Texas A&M, but he also deserves a wealth of criticism for throwing for just 106 yards in the Aggies’ potent offense against a Sun Belt opponent. Kenny Hill set a school record for passing in his first start in Week 1, and he did so against an SEC defense (albeit the worst defense in the conference). Allen didn’t even complete 50 percent of his passes, and the Aggies won by just five points as ULM had the ball with a chance to win late but couldn’t capitalize. The freshman should improve between now and the end of the season, but this was easily one of the worst passing performances in a win all season.
3. Maty Mauk vs. South Carolina (12 of 34 for 132 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT) — Mauk has had a few horrendous performances in Missouri wins this year, which reflects Mizzou’s “win ugly” season as it now sits atop the SEC East standings at 7-2 and 4-1 in the SEC. The Tigers rallied from 13 down in the final 10 minutes of play to steal a victory from the Gamecocks, but Mauk deserves none of the credit. He completed a dreadful 35.3 percent of his passes for the game and averaged just 3.9 yards per attempt. Had the Tigers rushing attack not risen to the occasion, Missouri would have likely lost this game. Mauk’s lack of an interception kept Mizzou close, but he did little else to contribute to the Tigers’ victory.
2. Jeff Driskel vs. Tennessee (11 of 23 for 59 yards, 0 TD, 3 INTs) — Driskel has since been benched as Florida’s quarterback in favor of Harris, and his performance against Tennessee is one of the many reasons why, even though Florida happened to win this particular game. Driskel completed less than 50 percent of his passes for a mere 59 yards, marking the second fewest passing yards by an SEC quarterback in a win this season. He also averaged a dismal 2.6 yards per attempt and threw a whopping three interceptions to all but give the game to Tennessee. Lucky for the Gators, their defense came to play and they squeaked out a 10-9 win to stay afloat in the SEC East, but Driskel should have cost his team a win on numerous occasions.
1. Maty Mauk vs. Florida (6 of 18 for 20 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT) — Mauk is the only quarterback to appear on this list twice, once again reflecting the ugly success of Missouri’s season in 2014. A 0-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio is bad, and a 33 percent completion percentage is worse. But 20 passing yards? Twenty?!? Most middle schoolers can throw a ball 20 yards. It seems impossible the Tigers beat an SEC opponent throwing for just 20 yards and averaging just 1.1 yards per attempt, but they did. Mizzou benefited from two return touchdowns and two defensive touchdowns to win this game by a whopping 29 points, but Mauk had by far the worst game of his sophomore season. He’s lucky it came in a win, and is probably still indebted to his teammates as a result.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
